Comment

Comment by truth on May 23, 2015 at 6:58pm

​Pro-Israel bias: BBC admits editorial breach

The BBC has reached a “provisional finding” to uphold complaints made by Palestinian activists that the broadcaster breached its editorial guidelines in a “soft” interview with the Israeli defense minister.

Complaints focused on BBC journalist Sarah Montague’s alleged failure to challenge
controversial claims made by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe
Ya’alon.

Journalist Amena Saleem, who works with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), wrote on Electronic Intifada that she received an
email last week from the BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU)
indicating grievances lodged by the PSC would be upheld.

However, a BBC spokesperson said the finding was “provisional” and the outcome was yet to be finalized.

According to a PSC transcript of the interview, broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s flagship news program “Today” on March 19,
Ya’alon said that Palestinians enjoy political independence.

If the complaint is upheld, it is the second time in recent months the ECU has censured the state-run corporation for its
pro-Israel bias.

BBC News Online was found to have breached its editorial guidelines last July when it described the author of an article
about Gaza’s hidden tunnels as an “independent defense
analyst.”

The author, Dr Eado Hecht, is a lecturer in military doctrine at Bar Ilan University, an institution described by the ECU as being
“explicitly pro-Israeli.”

The complaints board also acknowledged the author had “published articles written from a clearly pro-Israeli
perspective.”